Teacher's Guide for ASK ^® Fantastic Islands

July / August 2005

Teacher Guide prepared by Betty Lou Askin, a retired elementary school principal in Ontario. Currently, she is providing Social Studies and Science workshops for teachers as well as continuing her various writing projects.

Introduction: Pre-reading activities

• Prior Knowledge:On chart paper or the blackboard, list what the students know about islands.
• Ask the students how living on an island would differ from the mainland.
• View the Contents page
  • Ask the students to predict what type of bird is going to be seen on page 10.
  • Ask if they know the name of the reptile shown from page 13.
  • What animal will be discussed on page 28?

There are many bodies of land that will be mentioned throughout the articles. A Map of the World is needed for reference. I have listed the various places below for your information. They are in the approximate order that they occur in this magazine. You may want to show the location of some of them at this time as a general orientation. As you read each article, it would be beneficial to locate the places on the map.

South Africa, Peru, Tasmania, Australia, South America, North America, New Zealand, Mauritius, Indonesia, Indian Ocean, Galapagos, Pacific Ocean, Krakatan, Heimaey, Easter Island, Bermuda, Juan Fernandez, Devil's Island, St. Kilda, Iceland, Hawaii, Ireland, Madagascar, Greenland, Japan, Jamaica, Flores Island, Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea, Egypt, Azores, Caribbean, Antarctica, North Africa, Crete and the Mediterranean.

Fastest Eater Found (page 2)

Vocabulary: mammal, tentacles, scarfing

1. What mammal is the fastest eater?
2. Describe its nose.
3. How does its nose help find food?
4. Why does the star-nosed mole eat so quickly?
5. Other moles eat more slowly. Why?
6. Which type of mole would you prefer to be? Why?

Powered by Play (pages 2-3)

1. How does this new invention get its power?
2. Why is it hard to get water in South Africa?
3. How does this invention work?
4. Name some things in your life that require a pump.

Daredevil Ants (page 3)

1. What experiment did scientist Stephen Yanoviak conduct?
2. What results did he find?
3. How do the ants' acrobatics help them?
4. Think of other creatures that have similar skills.
5. Can you think of another way that this experiment might have been conducted?

Nestor's Dock (pages 4-5)

1. Why are Nestor's friends not enjoying their vacation?
2. How could their vacation get worse?
3. Continue to write this story.
4. Draw a pictures for your story.

What Some Animals Will Do to Survive on an Island (pages 6-13)

Vocabulary: marsupial, pouch, offspring, placental, teat, continent, landmass, ancestors, fossil, colonize, habitat, predators

1. What happens to marsupial babies?
2. Where do most marsupials live?
3. How are placental mammal babies different from marsupials?
4. Predict why marsupials are not found in more places around the world.
5. Why did the bigger-brained placental mammals dominate in North America?
6. Why did the marsupials thrive in Australia?
7. How did the Tasmanian Devil get its name?
8. Why did the Tasmanian Devil not survive in Australia?
9. Why was New Zealand a good place for birds?
10. Why did the birds in New Zealand stop flying?
11. Explain why the moa or the dodo became extinct.
12. Why did the dodo tree not produce seeds for 300 years?
13. How do plants and animals begin to live on a volcanic island?
14. Explain how a finch's beak relates to its type of food.
15. What does survival of the fittest mean?
16. Why are humans the biggest threat and the greatest hope to island communities?

Fantasy Island? (pages 14-16)

1. Choose one of the islands and explain the problem that developed.
2. Pick one of the islands and research information about that location.
3. Create your own "Fantasy Island" and tell about a problem that developed.
4. Draw a picture of your island

What's Your Island IQ?

1. Test yourself or a partner on your knowledge of the islands.
2. Use information from this issue of ASK and make up some more test questions and place them on flash cards to share with other classmates.

Island of the Small (pages 17-22)

Vocabulary: topsy-turvy, species, adapt, imprint, evolved

1. Tell about the little people from the caves.
2. Why is Flores Island known as a topsy-turvy place?
3. Explain the "island rule".
4. What does it mean to adapt to an island?
5. Why is it better for a rat to grow to a larger size?
6. Why did the elephants grow smaller on the island?
7. Describe Ebu Gogo.
8. Why do scientists believe that Ebu Gogo followed the "island rule"?
9. Why do scientists think that Ebu Gogo had a smart brain?
10. What would it have been like to share the island with another kind of intelligent human being?

Searching for Atlantis (pages 23-25)

1. Who was Plato?
2. Describe the island of Atlantis.
3. Why did the gods punish Atlantis?
4. In what format did Plato usually write?
5. Why would people believe that Solon told the truth?
6. Do you believe that Atlantis existed? Explain your reasoning.
7. Complete some further research about Atlantis.

A Very Strange Animal (pages 26-29)

1. What are monotremes?
2. Describe the echidna's habitat.
3. What is the purpose of the second claw?
4. Describe the echidna's spines.
5. Why have the echidnas survived for such a long time?
6. Why are echidnas excellent diggers?
7. Write a paragraph describing the development of a puggle.
8. Describe a platypus.

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Updated: 2/11/12 12:58 am
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